Conspiracy theories flourish during uncertain times. They're always with us, passed down through generations like alternate histories, yet they’re constantly reinvented when collective stress levels peak. Julian reports on the QAnon spin-off group that’s been camped out in Dallas’s Dealey Plaza for two weeks, hoping to catch a glimpse of a pantheon of resurrected dead celebrities. In light of the Astroworld concert tragedy, which killed 10 people, being interpreted as a ritual Satanic sacrifice on social media, Derek wonders if conspiracies are just how we process everything now. Matthew points out the legitimate reasons conspiracy theorists have for their paranoia while warning against the media's tendency to titillate by misusing the terminology of cult research. And he also reads a bit from Paradise Lost. A conversational recap week as we’re working on some Big Shows in the next few weeks.

Show Notes

Riots, deaths, sexual assault: Maybe Woodstock was always a nightmare

The Bizarre Travis Scott Claims Show That Conspiracies Are Just How We Process Things

TikTok and QAnon Panic Over ‘Satanism’ Conspiracies at Deadly Travis Scott Concert

QAnon’s Refuse to Leave Dallas After JFK Jr. Fails to Appear

Inside The QAnon Cult Waiting for JFK Jr.

On The Ground At Dealey Plaza

Twitter videos/thread on Michael Brian Protzman

What Biden is keeping secret in the JFK files

QAnon Influencer Recruiting Secretary of State Candidates

Academic Research on Conspiracy Theories in Times of Social Crisis

Karen Douglas PhD on The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories

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